Matt Penman

Matt Penman is a New Zealand-born bassist who became one of the most in-demand voices on the New York jazz scene after moving to the United States in 1994 to study at Berklee College of Music and settling in New York in 1995. He is a longstanding member of the SFJAZZ Collective, the eight-piece ensemble devoted to original works and fresh arrangements drawn from the jazz canon. In 2009 he co-founded James Farm, a collaborative quartet with saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks and drummer Eric Harland whose song-based writing pulled from rock, soul, folk and electronica; the group released its debut on Nonesuch in 2011. As a leader he recorded The Unquiet in 2001 and Catch of the Day in 2008 for Fresh Sound New Talent, followed by Good Question on Sunnyside in 2018. His warm, harmonically grounded playing has made him a frequent collaborator across the modern jazz mainstream.